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The events of the past few weeks have left the 93-year-old "rugged and drained", according to sources.

He is thought to be considering a trip to Singapore in the coming weeks for medical checks, after postponing a trip planned for mid-November after he was put under house arrest by the military.

The news is unlikely to be popular with many Zimbabweans following decades of Mugabe's brutal leadership, during which he has been accused of widespread corruption, racial discrimination, crimes against humanity, human rights abuses, suppression of political critics and economic mismanagement.

Forward Mazvitorera, 42, a Zanu (PF) official, said he blamed Mr Mugabe for his inability to find a job and a wife.

He told the Times: “He should be prosecuted and sent to jail for a long time.

“If I meet him one day I will give him a blow in the street. He squandered my livelihood.”

Mugabe resigns: Zimbabwe celebrates end of an era

Thu, November 23, 2017

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has resigned from his post as President of Zimbabwe, who has ruled the country for 37 years

Supporters of Zimbabwe's former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa await his arrival in Harare

Mugabe resigned on Tuesday after ruling Zimbabwe for 37 tumultuous years and his former vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, is set to replace him on Friday.

The veteran leader led Zimbabwe from independence in 1980 but stepped down after a military intervention and his own Zanu-PF party turned on him.

Millions of people across the country have been celebrating the end of Mugabe's presidency, which has breathed new hope into a country that has spent years suffering under his long and brutal leadership.

His 37-year presidency was brought to an abrupt end by a battle to succeed him, which pitted vice president Mnangagwa against Mugabe's 52-year-old wife Grace.

Mnangagwa, popular with the military and nicknamed 'the Crocodile' as a result of his reputation for stealth and ruthlessness, was ousted by Mugabe last week in the clearest move yet that he was paving the way for his wife Grace to succeed him.

Grace Mugabe, nicknamed 'Gucci Grace' for her love of expensive fashion, was widely despised and many Zimbabweans feared she would have continued Mugabe's reign of terror.

Yesterday, Mnangagwa addressed crowds in the capital Harare and told them they were witnessing "unfolding full democracy".

Meanwhile Zimbabwe's main opposition said it wanted incoming president Mnangagwa to dismantle all pillars of repression that helped sustain Mugabe's 37 years in power.

In its first official comments since Mugabe resigned on Tuesday, the MDC said it was cautiously optimistic that a Mnangagwa presidency would not "mimic and replicate the evil, corrupt, decadent and incompetent Mugabe regime."